


Quiet Spaces

by shions_heart



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Crushes, Drabble, First Kiss, M/M, Pining, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 19:58:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6767983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shions_heart/pseuds/shions_heart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akaashi thought he'd prefer the quiet after Bokuto leaves for university. But he soon realizes that there is such a thing as <i>too</i> quiet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quiet Spaces

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shun_Takei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shun_Takei/gifts).



> written for akaboku day (5/4) and inspired by [this art](http://takei-draws.tumblr.com/post/143884660316/takei-draws-54-is-akaboku-day-i-cant) by [shun-takei](http://takei-draws.tumblr.com/). this is also dedicated to them.

Akaashi thought he'd like the quiet, after Bokuto left. He often longed for it, during the difficult days of practice when Bokuto would call to him, over and over again for a toss, butchering his name every time. He always understood that things were louder on the court, but Bokuto's voice seemed to carry further, grate deeper. Akaashi reminded himself, over and over again, that he only had to endure it for a year.

Then the year ends.

Bokuto leaves.

The gym is quiet.

There's a saying that goes, "Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true." There's a sense of relief at first; the knowledge that he no longer has to cater to his captain's highs and lows puts Akaashi at ease. He loosens up around the new first years and second string players who join the starting ranks after their senpai leave. They practice hard, and he's satisfied with their improvement, but after a while he notices how different the atmosphere is.

Yes, the team loves to play. They wouldn't be here if they didn't. But none of them have the same fire that the others did. There seems to be a distinct lack of enthusiasm in the group, and Akaashi can't put his finger on why.

"Does it seem like our new players are rather . . . serious?" he asks Onaga one day.

"It's just because Bokuto-san isn't here," he says, not seeming concerned. "They're into it; they're just not as loud about it."

Akaashi realizes that he's right. Bokuto had a way of getting the team fired up; of forcing everyone to give their all every time they stepped onto the court in order to keep up with him. He kept their minds working, figuring out what they needed to do in the times when he'd hit a low point. And it was easy to get caught up in his excitement for the game. Hearing him yell, seeing him in action, it always made Akaashi's heart race, his blood rush through his veins, adrenaline spiking.

He doesn't feel that anymore.

He realizes that he misses it.

He realizes that he misses Bokuto.

 

 

 

It's a hot day in summer, close to Inter High. A Saturday. Akaashi asked a couple of his new teammates to stay on after class to practice, having noticed a few areas in which they need improvement. He's setting for one of the new wing spikers, a tall, strong young man named Nagachika Ayato. He spikes it cleanly over the net and lands with a self-satisfied smirk. Akaashi purses his lips, trying to decide the best way to tell his kouhai that a simple spike such as that won't get through a well positioned block, but he's interrupted.

"Hey, hey, hey! that was terrible!"

Scowling, Nagachika turns around to confront the critic, and his eyes widen, jaw slack. Akaashi feels a tremor run through him, as he turns to see Bokuto swagger through the doors of the gym, followed by Konoha and Washio. Konoha gives him a small grin, and Washio nods, but Bokuto walks right up to Akaashi and flings his arm around his shoulder like he simply left to go to the toilets and hasn't been gone for half a year.

"Akaashi! What have you been teaching the newbies? Do they all spike like that?"

"Only the ones who still need improvement," Akaashi says drily, though his heart is attempting to escape his chest.

"That was a perfectly good spike!" Nagachika exclaims.

Bokuto steps forward, wagging his finger in the first year's face. "Nuh-uh! That spike wouldn't have gotten through any good block. It was much too soft! Unless you're doing a feint, it's just no good at all!"

Konoha and Washio exchange knowing grins, and Akaashi gets the feeling he knows what's about to happen. Sure enough, Bokuto turns to Akaashi and points.

"Akaashi! Toss for me!"

Akaashi already had a protest ready on his tongue, but he finds himself swallowing it, as an involuntary shiver runs down his spine. Had he actually . . . missed Bokuto's demands for a toss? Pressing his lips together, he simply nods. Konoha steps up to the ball cart and selects a volleyball, turning it over in his hands. He grins at Akaashi.

"Ready?"

Bokuto backs up a few steps, lifting his eyebrows at Nagachika as if to say "watch and learn."

Konoha throws the ball into the air. It sails at a perfect angle for Akaashi to reach up easily and set his fingertips firmly against it. He tosses it high and straight, just the way Bokuto likes it. What happens next is almost too fast to witness. With a great yell Bokuto leaps and slams the palm of his hand as hard as he can in the direct center of the ball. It smashes to the floor on the other side of the net, sailing off on a bounce to hit the wall on the far side of the gym.

The other first year in the room stares, a small boy named Fueguchi (a libero), mouth agape, and Nagachika looks pale. Bokuto lands and rotates his arm. He thrusts his fists into the air then and yells, "hey, hey, hey!"

"That was amazing, Bokuto," Konoha says, clapping politely.

"Magnificent," Washio adds, applauding as well.

Bokuto grins, his chest puffed wide. Akaashi stares at him, his fingertips tingling. _He truly hasn't changed at all._

"Now _that_ is how you spike a volleyball!" he exclaims, whirling on Nagachika.

"R-Right!" the first year shouts, startled into a straight spine.

"I think we should play a match," Konoha states, smirking faintly. "Three on three. Show these first years how it's done."

"I get Akaashi!" Bokuto says immediately, quickly stepping over to stand beside him.

Akaashi does everything in his power not to blush. "That hardly seems fair," he says mildly.

"How else are they going to learn, Akaashi? Except by being soundly defeated!"

"I'll play with the first years," Washio offers.

"Yes, yes, good," Bokuto agrees. "Show them how a real blocker works!"

Washio rolls his eyes good-naturedly, and gestures for the first years to follow him to the other side of the net. Akaashi watches Bokuto, as he bounces on his toes, stretching his arms behind his head.

"Bokuto-san," he finds himself asking before he can think better of it. "Why are you here?"

Bokuto blinks at him. "To see how you're holding up as captain! And to offer advice, of course." He beams.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I'm doing fine." Akaashi says, trying not to be affected by this. _It's just his ego. He didn't come here to see you personally. He's only checking up on his legacy._

"Obviously not if they're spiking like _that_ this close to Inter High!"

Akaashi grits his teeth. "Bokuto-san. You should focus on your own studies and not worry about this team. You're playing on a team at your university, correct? Shouldn't you be there practicing with them?"

"I practice with them all the time," Bokuto says dismissively. "They're okay, I guess. But I miss your tosses. They're the best."

Akaashi feels somewhat like he's walking underwater, as he goes to fetch a volleyball to serve first. _My tosses. He misses my tosses. That doesn't mean anything. He just hasn't acclimated into his university team very well yet. Soon he'll be so caught up in becoming the ace for his university, he'll forget all about us. It's what he does._

_Focus, Keiji. All this is irrelevant. You don't even like the guy._

Except that he does.

He's beginning to realize he actually likes Bokuto very much.

How irritating.

The match commences, and while Washio is an excellent blocker and Nagachika has skill (and height), Bokuto's crazy intense spikes get through more often than not. Poor Fueguchi is overwhelmed, and while he's quick, the strength of the spikes soon becomes too much for his small body, and his steps begin to lag.

Finally, in the second set with the score 20 to 8 in favor of Bokuto's team, Akaashi calls for a halt.

"That's enough, Bokuto-san," he says firmly, when Bokuto immediately complains. "These are first years. They've only played in middle school before. You're too strong for them."

"Akaashi!" Bokuto stares at him, eyes sparkling. "You called me strong!"

Akaashi purses his lips. _He doesn't even look tired._ "That wasn't a compliment."

Bokuto's still grinning, as Akaashi turns to Nagachika and Fueguchi. "At Inter High you will encounter many players that are stronger than you, better than you. This is why you have to give us your best, even during practice. In order to improve, you have to fight for it."

"I understand," Nagachika says, panting.

Fueguchi wavers on his feet, but he nods vigorously, a new light in his eyes that wasn't there before. "We won't lose!"

Akaashi fights a smile. "Go shower and head home. Make sure you drink plenty of water. I'll see you on Monday."

"Right!" they both exclaim, bowing before rushing off.

"Ahh, first years. So cute," Konoha says with a grin, wiping sweat from his face with the bottom of his shirt.

Bokuto flops to the ground, laying down and staring up at the ceiling. "I miss this place," he declares.

"Yeah," Washio agrees, moving to sit as well.

Konoha joins him and after a moment Akaashi sits as well, not wanting to be the only one left standing. Immediately, Bokuto scoots his upper body over in order to place his head in Akaashi's lap. Akaashi freezes, looking down at Bokuto and doing his best not to blush. Bokuto grins up at him.

"I miss you most of all," he states without any shame.

"Bokuto-san," Akaashi says, and then stops, because he doesn't know how to respond to that.

"It's true," Konoha says. "He's always talking about you."

"'Akaashi would toss it more like this,'" Washio mimics. "'Akaashi would say that.' 'That's just what Akaashi used to say!'"

"It's really annoying," Konoha admits.

Akaashi's speechless. His ears, neck, and face all feel warm. There's no way he's effectively hiding his embarrassment now. He wants to hide his face, but Bokuto's still grinning up at him, and he feels like that would be _too_ obvious.

He's spared from replying when Bokuto speaks again, quieter this time. "Well? Why wouldn't I? You were always so good to me, Akaashi! You gave me the best tosses, you kept me company during lunch almost every day, you always knew how to get me out of my dejected mode . . . you're really awesome."

This time when Akaashi looks down at Bokuto, he smiles almost sleepily up at him. He seems completely sincere. Akaashi finds himself awkwardly patting Bokuto's hair, still not quite sure what to say.

"I was just . . . being a good kouhai to my captain," he mutters.

Bokuto shakes his head. "I wasn't captain your first year here, and you did all that then too," he points out, yawning then. His eyes close, and he grins again faintly. "That's why you've always been my favorite kouhai."

Astonishingly, he falls asleep right after that, snoring softly.

Akaashi stares, dumbfounded. He looks up at Konoha and Washio then, who shrug.

"We were just at practice before we came here," Konoha admits.

Akaashi feels irritation swell through him. "And you let him play nearly two full sets here? He shouldn't be wearing himself out this much."

"To be honest, he doesn’t really listen to us in terms of like, advice and shit," Konoha admits.

"Yeah, we're not as good with him as you are," Washio says with a nod.

Akaashi's rendered speechless once more. _But . . . he rarely, if ever, listened to me. It was only when I got the entire team to support him that he started coming around from his dejected mode faster._

_Oh._

Konoha stands, stretching. "Well, I'm starving. Washio, come get noodles with me."

"Roger," Washio says, standing as well.

Akaashi blinks up at them. "You're going to leave him here like this?" he asks, gesturing to the softly snoring Bokuto in his lap.

Konoha grins. "I'm sure you can handle him," he says confidently, heading toward the door. "Tell him we'll meet him back at the dorm." He waves over his shoulder. 

"Take care, Akaashi," Washio says, before following.

The gym grows quiet. But it's a different type of quiet than it's been in the recent past. Akaashi doesn't feel it stifling him, itching beneath his skin. Instead, as he looks down at the face of the young man in his lap, he finds the tension in his chest easing. Carefully, he threads his fingers through the wild black and gray strands of Bokuto's hair. Then, as softly as he can, he bends to kiss Bokuto's slightly parted lips.

They're softer than he expects, which is good because it must mean he's drinking enough water. He leans back, cheeks flushed. Bokuto's eyes open, and he blinks up at Akaashi with some confusion.

_Shit_.

"Did you just kiss me, Akaashi?" Bokuto asks, seeming dazed.

Akaashi looks away quickly. "You must have dreamed it," he says, though he knows his blush is giving him away.

When he chances a glance back at Bokuto's face, he finds him grinning.

"I knew you liked me best too," he says happily.

Akaashi purses his lips to fight a smile and finds he can't contradict him.

"If you say so, Bokuto-san."

**Author's Note:**

> yes, the names of the OCs are from Tokyo Ghoul.
> 
> http://shions-heart.tumblr.com/


End file.
